Purdue (6-5) is coming off an 88-80 loss to Notre Dame in the Crossroads Classic. The Boilermakers have lost two straight, four of five and five of seven — all away from home.

Can confirm an expected starting lineup change tonight in the frontcourt. Evan Boudreaux gets the nod over Matt Haarms. First Purdue lineup change this season.

Ohio (7-3) has won two in a row and four of its last five. The Bobcats are 1-3 away from home.

This is the first meeting between the teams since 1969. That ended a run of six meetings in six seasons, with Purdue holding a 4-2 lead in the series.

Per Jason Arkley of the Athens Messenger, Purdue will play at Ohio next season. This home-and-home has been floating out there for a while as part of a multi-sport scheduling agreement in conjunction with the 2017 football game at Ross-Ade Stadium.

Purdue forwards Aaron Wheeler and Grady Eifert on why they feel it is important for the team to talk to school groups and help in the community.
Nathan Baird, jconline.com

STARTING FIVE

1-Don't take anything away from Ohio, which has only lost to Xavier among its last six games. But this is a game Purdue has to have. No other choice. The one thing going for the Boilermakers throughout this middling non-conference performance has been a lack of "bad" losses. With the Bobcats hovering in the 120s in the NCAA's NET rating, this would count as one.

2-Following along the same thought, Purdue needs to show some growth defensively, as I wrote about leading into this game. I think there's a good chance that happens especially due to some of the dynamics in this matchup. However, until it also happens on the road, questions will linger.

3-If things go according to plan, I would imagine Aaron Wheeler and Trevion Williams get the sort of minutes some vocal Purdue fans believe they should receive. Don't be surprised, however, when consistency of performance every day in practice continues to trump a few minutes on the home court against a MAC school. The process is unfolding for both players, and neither is really behind schedule.

4-Bounce-back candidate: Matt Haarms. I'm not really sure what Ohio plans to do with a 7-3 guy with range since it has no players beyond 6-9. Ball State coach James Whitford mentioned after that Nov. 6 game that they don't see players like that in the MAC. Haarms needs to capitalize as he did that night and be a presence.

5-A shout out to Larry Clisby, who expects to be back on the mic tonight and for the foreseeable future. He knew when he returned this season that the path would be unpredictable. Good to hear taking a step back has helped him take more steps forward.

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